


We're not going anywhere

by Eternalmomentss



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Based on a Tumblr Post, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:27:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25203937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eternalmomentss/pseuds/Eternalmomentss
Summary: There is a burden weighing heavily on Aang's shoulders, he's scared, he's worried, everything a kid shouldn't be. But he is loved so dearly by the people he would forever call his family. They're not going anywhere. He would never be alone.
Relationships: Aang & Katara (Avatar), Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Aang & The Gaang (Avatar), Aang & Toph Beifong, Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 12
Kudos: 145





	We're not going anywhere

Aang could downright sense Sozin‘s Comet pressing closer with every faltering breath he took. His skin was constantly prickling, running hotter by the second.  
At night, he would lie awake, plagued by nightmares, droplets of sweat running down his temples and his heart racing him to sheer insanity. He’d been through this before, the nightmares and daydreams, right before the day of black sun, right before his own first failure. Was he doomed to fail again; to fail forever, until his inevitable demise?  
Aang rolled to his side with a shiver running down his spine, body curling up into a defensive position. He started clenching and unclenching the fist that was bedded on the covers next to his head, watching his shaky fingers with tired, grey eyes.  
What ifs started to play out in his mind, pushing their way past any hopeful thoughts that may have lingered somewhere in the back of the young airbender’s thoughts.

What if I fail? The world would be doomed, swallowed by flames and destruction.  
What if, along with everyone’s hope, the Avatar Cycle would be broken, this time for good?  
What if, yes what if it is not just me falling, but my friends? The people closest to me. The people I so trust and love, so brave and kind.  
Because they would fight for him, until their last breath.

Aang shot up straight in his bed, fingers digging into the mattress, hoping the atrocious image that had just painted itself before his eyes would simply disappear. He was paralyzed by what his own mind was forcing him to see.  
His breath was shallow and his mouth had gone bone dry, pins and needled all over his hot flushed skin like wildfire, blurry vision from the tears that had started to form in the corners of his eyes.  
He felt alone and helpless.

Stay calm and breathe  
Stay calm and b-  
Stay calm a-  
Stay c-

“Aang.”

And then there was a touch to his shoulder, causing the young boy to flinch. 

“Shh, it’s alright, hey can you- can you breathe with me?”, the voice kept calm and composed, “I’ll count to ten, okay? Just breath with me.”

Aang did. He tried to mimic the man’s breathing in front of him, in and out, feeling the air slowly fill his chest and belly and then slowly leave them again.

“That’s right, you’re doing good.”, the image of his friend became clearer, “Close your eyes, alright?”

He did as he was told, eyes slowly closing to block out extra stimuli.

“Untense.”

The young boy focused on relaxing his muscles, one after the other. A little wave of relief rolled over him, soothing most of the pain in his chest and on his skin.

“You’re alright.”, he finally recognized the voice right next to him, “You’re safe.”

“Zuko.”, the young boy breathed and opened his eyes, the image of his good friend becoming clear.

The teenage boy looked at him through wide eyes, distraught written all over his sharp features. He was kneeling in front of the bed, head tilted up to hold Aang’s gaze secure. 

“Are you feeling better?”, he asked, visibly down-faced, “I think you had a panic attack.”

Aang nodded his head, without really thinking the question over. At least he was able to think somewhat straight again. He gulped down the remaining traces of the terror cording up his windpipe, “I think.”

Zuko let out a relieved puff of breath, getting up to sit on the bed next to the airbender. He rested his elbows on his tights, staring holes into the wooden floor in front of him.  
So, they sat in silence, Aang finding a supportive crutch in the steady breaths and sheer presence of his friend by his side, who he knew was now digesting the aftermath of what had just happened himself. 

When the young prince finally spoke up, it was a careful stalk, voice gentle and cautious: “Do you want to talk about what happened?”, he blinked, before turning his head around to look at the boy, “I mean, only if you feel like it.”

Aang sighed, before nodding his head. “Thank you, Zuko…“, he managed a genuine smile, “You really helped me.”

The firebender seemed almost bashful at hearing those words, as if he couldn’t quite grasp the idea of him actually, truly helping someone. 

“I just-…”, Zuko mumbled, pressing his lips together for a second, “I heard you through the door and- well…”

“Why were you up?”, Aang furrowed his brows, hoping he wasn’t overstepping any boundaries.

“Oh, I guess I just-“, Zuko shrugged his shoulders, “couldn’t sleep either…”

“Really?”, the young airbender cocked his head, quietly observing Zuko tensing his shoulders a bit. 

Something was keeping him awake, too? For some reason, Aang felt reassured to hear it. He was sad no question, Zuko was his friend after all, but he couldn’t deny that he was just subconsciously throwing a somewhat durable bridge between them, as they spoke.  
He wasn’t sure if it was a bizarre thought or not.

“Aang, listen-“, Zuko made a tiny gesture with his right hand, underplaying his own sentiments, “If you want to talk about it, I’m here.”

And Aang realized that yes, he was indeed here.  
Zuko could have just walked past his door and easily ignore any hints of Aang struggling on his own, but he’d decided against it, he actually came and helped him, because he did in fact care.

“Yes, you are, aren’t you?”, the boy smiled, making Zuko cock his eyebrow in slight confusion. Aang looked up at the ceiling, before picking up the talk in a hushed tone, “I’m scared, Zuko.”

The teen said nothing. He waited patiently for his friend to continue.

“I’m scared of failing and letting the world down right when it needs me the most.”, Aang confessed, the words just sputtering out of him like water out of a leak, “I’m scared to break the cycle, to take lives and hurt others and-“, he took a deep breath, “I will not let you guys risk your lives for me and put yourselves in danger. I just can’t let you do that.”

“Aang…”, Zuko was surprised by how tiny his voice sounded in his own ears, “I think I speak for everyone in this group when I say that we care about you and that we want to help you and the word more than anything else. You’re our best friend and not just our last hope.”

Aang wanted to answer, but Zuko’s words had just hit him like a blow to the head. Well, a good kind of blow to the head, rendering him completely speechless. He was dead sure that his heart would drop down to his shoes, with how heavy and full it had grown in mere second. A tender smile spread over the young boy’s face.

“Thank you.”, he said again, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, “Can I-…I mean maybe-…”, he opened his arms a tiny bit, “give you a hug?”

Zuko’s cheeks flushed the deepest red Aang had ever seen in his life and the sheer bamboozlement written all over the firebender’s face made the young boy flash a crooked smile.

To say the hug wasn’t at least a tiny bit awkward would have been a lie. While Aang threw his arms around his Sifu in pure affection, holding him in such a tight hug that Zuko thought he might just suffocate on the spot, the young prince himself was quite unsure what to do with his arms. They seemed quite useless all of a sudden. 

“Hey, Zuko?”, Aang raised his voice after a while of just sitting there in one of the weirdest but also nicest hugs he’d ever experienced, “Wanna go around the temple? I can show you some really cool stuff!”

But the young prince shook his head slowly, before getting off the bed. He sighed heavily, before suggesting: “You should sleep Aang.”

“Oh, but I’m-…”

“No, I mean it.”, Zuko’s voice was just a hint sharper now. He immediately felt guilty about it, but he tried to ensure himself that it was only for Aang’s best, “You have to rest now, it’s the best you can do to calm down from the adrenaline rush.”

The young Avatar curled his lip, pouting like a toddler refusing to go to sleep after the hundredth time his parents told him to.  
And right there and then, accompanied by a twist of his stomach, Zuko realized just how small the airbender really was; how young and fragile as he sat there crossed legged on his bed.  
Yes, he was the most powerful bender in the whole world, the fire nation’s threat as he had read not too long ago, but after all, his friend was just a child. He was just too young for all of this.

Like I was. 

Zuko pushed the thought away with a shake of his head. Instead he moved toward the door and laid his hand on the handle, before looking back over his shoulder.

“Sleep.”, he said, “I’ll be next doors if you need me.”

“Hey Firebolt!”, Toph’s clear and resonant voice echoed through the Western Air Temples, “Is Twinkletoes up yet? We’re all ready for breakfast. How ‘bout you make some tea?”

Zuko blinked a few times, before turning his head to see the young earthbender, Katara and Sokka all sitting comfortably around a small cooking fire with a pot full of water already seated on top of the flames for him to prepare the tea in.  
The young teen made his way over to the others, clearly noticing the sudden shift in Katara’s posture. The way she immediately sat up straight, tense and vigilant, like Zuko could strike at any moment. The way her smile faded. It made his heart drop a few rips down.

“Good morning.”, he said, slapping on a wide smile and praying it’d look friendly and not completely terrifying. He sat down next to Toph, who he felt like would welcome him the most.

“Morning?”, Sokka rejointed, just a hint of bafflement in his usually smug and cocky voice, “Where’s Aang? Have you seen him?”

Zuko made sure to look the water tribe boy in the eyes as he answered: “He’s had a rough night, so I guess he’s still sleeping.”

At this, Katara’s head snapped up immediately, “What do mean, he had a rough night?”  
There was a history of worry written all over her face. Her eyes were huge and demanding answers.

“It’s alright now.”, Zuko assured immediately, “At least I think so.”

“Well, what happened?”, Toph was scrunching her nose in what seemed like unease, a look that Zuko has not yet seen like this on her face. 

“Well, it was the middle of the night when I heard him crying through the wall.”, Zuko lowered his head at the memory. How is heart had stopped at the sound, “I think he had a panic attack so I stayed by his side and tried to calm him down.”

The silence that engulfed their conversation after Zuko’s words was thick and foggy.

Sokka gulped at the thought of seeing his best friend, his little brother in that amount of hurt and fear. He felt a painful bang in his chest, causing him to press his lips together.  
Why has he been sleeping on it? Why didn’t he hear it? He could have helped too. He could have been by his side. Sharp guilt rose up in his stomach all the way up to his head, it felt like glass shards inside of him. He wanted nothing more than make Aang feel protected and loved and now he failed at it. Didn’t he?  
With a heavy sigh, he looked at his sister.  
Katara’s eyes were empty, her mind somewhere else entirely. Sokka was unable to even guess what she was thinking. 

It was Toph who raised her voice eventually, “Thank you for being there with him, Firebolt.”, she turned her head in the prince’s direction, “You were seriously concerned about him, weren’t you?”

“Of course I was!”, Zuko waisted not one second before his answer. 

All this time, he had been chasing the young Avatar with two blind eyes, believing that it had been his unshaken destiny, that he could somehow restore his precious honour and be loved by his wicked father. His insides curled at that thought.  
For so long, he had been nothing but a burden to this great, kind, talented and honest kid who’s never even wanted this burdensome destiny, who shouldn’t even worry about all this. About being hunted down and hated by an entire nation. So Zuko had sworn to himself that he would help the Avatar in every way he could. No matter the cost and no matter the circumstances. He would be there now and to the end. Whatever kind of end it would be.

And Toph knew it, she felt it. Zuko was being honest.

“Yeah, thanks jerk.”, Sokka nodded his head at him and there was a genuine smile on his face, “Never thought I’d say that, but I’m glad you were there.”

Zuko would have never thought to hear these words either and he couldn’t deny his heart excitedly skipping a beat at it.  
He dared to look at Katara, who stayed silent and didn’t seem like opening her mouth to say something, let alone thank him. But there was something in her eyes, something the young firebender did not see before. Something so much different from the way she looked at him any other day. Less resentment.  
And that was enough for Zuko.

“Aang is worries about you.”, said the prince after a while, “About you taking risks to save him.” 

“Well we’re worried about him too!”, Sokka stated vigorously, “We won’t let him do this alone.”

“And I am sure he knows that.”

“Well, let’s make it evident.”, Sokka brought his fist down onto his open palm in determination, “I have a plan!”

The water tribe boy gained three pairs of raised eyebrows.

“What kind of plan, boomerang?”, Toph snorted.

“We need a sign of our unshaken, everlasting bond of friendship and devotion!”, Sokka jumped up to his feet in eagerness, “Something that says: We are a team and we belong together!”

“And what is that?”, Katara asked, amused by her brother’s sudden change of mood. Zuko noticed the gentle glimmer in her eyes. 

“We should make…”, Sokka stared at them with his eyes torn wide open, his chest was heaving in utter agitation and alacrity, “Friendship-bracelets!”

He definitely awaited a round of ground shaking applause and cheering from his friends, but was quite disappointed by what he got; dead silence and baffled expressions. 

As surprised as Zuko was by this particular suggestion, he wasn’t compelled at all. He even thought that the idea was…kind of charming in a way. Maybe not because he was overly keen on wearing a friendship bracelet himself, but because he was quite convinced Aang would love it to no end. Maybe it could function as a promise, an oath to always return to one another.  
Wow, he did not just think of something so cheesy, right? 

“Huh, huuh?”, Sokka wiggled his eyebrows at his friends, awaiting their elated approval.

“I think it’s a good idea.”, Zuko finally said, nodding his head.

Sokka shot him a look so joy- and grateful, it made Zuko’s inside curl in the exact different direction than before. In a good way, that is.

“Well, y’know…”, Toph casually waved her hand, “It’s kinda cute, I guess.”

“Katara?”, Sokka looked at his sister with flashing eyes and when she nodded her head, he placed two hands on his hips in triumph.

“Yes, I knew it was a brilliant idea!”, the water tribe boy rejoiced, “Now listen closely team, I have a plan…”

Aang watched the brisk and lively flame shoot out of his fist with a jump of his heart, feeling the warmth coating his body, filling him with energy and excitement.  
He’d always feared and hated this element with all his heart, had sworn to never bend it again. He had always resented the sinister roar of untamed tongues of red licking at skin and eating away entire villages. It was all he had ever thought of when hearing this one word.  
And now he was embracing it all, the radiance and beauty. He had learned all about its true nature and he was convinced that is was not a pure instrument of evil. Loving every second of his training session with his Sifu.

“Again!”, Zuko’s clear and strict voice was commanding him. The teen was standing in front of Aang, reflecting every burst of flame that the Avatar was throwing at him. 

Aang nodded his head and with a precise thrust of his clenched fist, another drift of colourful flames shot towards his training partner. Aang continued with a controlled kick of his left foot, then his right, the heat tickling his skin in a pleasant way. 

Zuko nodded his head, fully satisfied with what he was seeing. He knew that Aang didn’t need more training today. He was wide aware of the fact that he was exhausted too and that they should probably head down to get lunch.

But he also knew that the other four were very busy with preparing the bracelets for their best friend and that Aang could not, under any circumstances go down there and spoil the surprise for himself.  
Sokka had insisted that Zuko should be the one to distract Aang with a training session (which Zuko would have done anyways, because it is actually quite necessary) and that the two girls were to stay with him to prepare everything.  
Toph had laughed wryly and pointed out that “Yeah sure, of course I should help you with arts and crafts, it’s my specialty.”  
But Sokka had shaken his head, telling the earthbender that “You can form stone like nobody else, I need you to make the pendants!”  
Zuko would never admit it out loud, but he was, to some extent, actually quite excited to see the results. 

“Can we take a little break, please?”, the question interrupted the prince’s thoughts and with a tiny shake of his head, he looked at his student. Aang had a pleading look on his face, his eyes torn wide open, glimmering brightly and a huge innocent grin on his lips. 

“No, we’re not done yes!”, Zuko forced himself to lie, “You need more training!”

Aang’s expression fell in a heartbeat and a pout appeared on his lips. “C’mon Zuko, I’m hungry!”, he nagged, “Let’s go get lunch!”  
He was about to rush straight past his teacher, when Zuko grabbed him by the collar, preventing the boy from getting any further. 

“I said no!”, Zuko insisted, but Aang was having none of it.  
With a frustrated mumble that Zuko couldn’t quite catch, the young boy blew a heavy blast of air right into the firebender’s face, causing him to press his eyes shut with a grunt. He immediately loosened his grip on the Avatar, giving him just enough time to slip out of his grasp with a triumphant cackle.  
Zuko’s hair was standing up in all direction and he looked utterly, completely, undeniably pissed.

“Ha!”, Aang laughed, pointing his finger at Zuko, “You should see your face right now!”

Zuko was about to spit out some really unfriendly words, when their banter was interrupted by Sokka, who came to a halt with a questioning but amused look on his face.

“Whatcha doing?”, he grinned, crossing his arms.

“Training.”, Zuko said behind clenched teeth, shooting his student a devasting look. Aang only grinned wider at the look on his face.

“Well, anyways-”, Sokka gave Zuko the most obvious unsuspicious look he had ever seen, “we’re having lunch now so come on down.”

Aang was gone in a split second, leaving only a little cloud of dust behind. Zuko sighed, when Sokka cocked his head in the direction of were the others were having their meal, indicating the firebender to follow him down.

As they were walking quietly side by side, Zuko found himself struck by curiosity, “How did it go?”, he rubbed the back of his neck, “I mean, did you-well did you find everything you needed and all that?”

“You’ll see.”, Sokka grinned, “Trust me, these things turned out great! Aang’s gonna flip!”

Zuko hummed in satisfaction, before falling silent again for the rest of the way. From a distant he could hear Aang’s cheery voice already.

“Did you see my fire bending? Pretty cool, huh?”

“Yeah, looked amazing.”, Toph grinned, making Katara chuckle.

“Did you also see how much of an annoying student he was being?”, Zuko intervened as the two of them arrived at the fire.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”, Zuko smiled provocatively, thoroughly enjoying the young airbender rolling his eyes with a smirk. 

“Hey, guys, let’s-“, Sokka made some wild gestures with his hands, “sit and- you know…”

“Eat?”, Aang helped.

“Actually…”, Katara got up with a gentle smile on her lips, walking over to were Aang was still standing next to Toph, “We-…we have something for you, Aang.”

The Avatar’s eyes took on the size of two overripe watermelons, “For me?”, Katara smiled at the little voice crack she detected and nodded her head.

“Zuko told us about what happened yesterday night.”, the waterbender’s voice grew softer and there were hints of sadness and concern on the tip of her tongue.  
Aang balled his fists and looked down to the floor in what seemed like slight embarrassment. He really didn’t want to worry all of his friends with this, it’s not like it’s their problem.

“I don’t want you to worry about that.”, he mumbled thinly, “Or about me, or fighting in this war, or anything else.”

“Aang, you will never stop us from caring and worrying about you.”, Katara said in a suddenly very serious tone of voice. She laid her hand on the young boy’s shoulder and squeezed it gently, “We’re your friends, your family. We love you and we won’t leave you alone for anything.”

There were tears rising up from the sudden lump in the airbender’s throat to his huge, grey eyes accompanied by a warm throbbing in his chest. 

“Yeah!”, Sokka nodded his head and rushed over to Aang’s side, throwing his arm around the boy’s shoulders, “We’re not going anywhere!”

“This is why we made you something.”, Katara slid her hand inside her pocket and revealed a tiny bracelet made out of delicate vines and solid plant stalks, with small flower heads woven into some of the open gaps. The most prominent feature however, was the tiny stone pedant, engraved with the symbol of the air nomads. 

“It is a token for good luck, a promise that we’ll stay together-”, explained the waterbender, as she fixed the bracelet around Aang’s wrist, “forever.”

Aang said nothing. He couldn’t say anything, because he found himself at a lack of words to describe was he was feeling. He was entirely overwhelmed.

“We’ve got one for each of us, actually.”, Katara went on and pulled four additional pieces of jewellery out of her pocket, before carefully handing them around, her face unmoving and stone cold as she gave Zuko his. 

The firebender sighed, but bit any words back with a tiny shake of his head. He looked at his bracelet instead. It had the very same floral design as the one Katara gave to Aang, only the pendant displayed the symbol of the fire nation instead of the air nomads. 

Sokka looked at his pendant and smiled at the boomerang engraved on it, Katara had already put on her watertribe pendant and was now giving Toph the last bracelet labelled with the symbol of the earth kingdom.

Aang held his wrists secure in his hand, an absentminded smile on his calm face, “Guys I-“, his voice was shaky and thick and Zuko noticed the boy’s shimmering, watery eyes as he looked up, cheeks flushed and heart beating so happy and proud and alive, “I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s okay, Twinkletoes.”, Toph smiled, “I think we understand.”

Yes, they did. They did understand

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! ( i just wanted them to have friendship bracelets okay)  
> I would love a kudo and a comment if you feel like it!  
> Find me on tumblr @eternalmomentss :)


End file.
